Scripted
by MistakenIllusion
Summary: Living two parallel lives gave me no choice but to accept the impossible and the illogical. Despite this, I never believed you could love two different people so much that they would become a firework, an explosion and an addiction all at once. Until now. AU; SasuSaku/NaruSaku.


**Scripted**

_By MistakenIllusion_

**Prologue: The Wishing Tree**

~ x X x ~

_'But by the time I've figured it out, I'm already falling…'_

~ x X x ~

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This really takes me back. I haven't climbed a tree in years, not since Mum banned me. That may have been to do with the fact that the last time I did, I fell and sprained my ankle. According to her, it meant I was too clumsy and irresponsible to ever climb again, and she refused point-blank to spend another four hours with me in A&E for something that was only the result of my sheer stupidity. That was fine by me – she'd just sighed and tutted the whole time we were in the hospital, which got on my every last nerve. I don't know what _she_ had to complain about – _I _was the one with the sprained ankle.

If she was here right now, she'd have a fit. So it's a good thing she's not. Here, I mean.

Neither is Ino, which is a bit annoying. Her dare is the only reason I'm doing this, so she should have to suffer out here with me. I could use the company – owl noises don't count, because I can't actually see the owls – but I suppose at this point in time, I'm so high up that even if I shouted down to her, she wouldn't be able to hear me. She wouldn't come up because she's scared of heights.

I'll be perfectly honest with you – I think she made the right call with this one. If I were her, I would've also chosen popcorn and _Pitch Perfect_ over an hour or so of watching my insane best friend climbing the biggest tree in Konoha. In the middle of the night, no less; a bloody cold night, too. I really wish I thought to put a coat on over my vest and shorts.

I must nearly be at the top by now. Yes, I told myself that at least five times on my way up, only to be proven wrong on all accounts, but this time I am one hundred per cent sure. The maze of branches overhead is considerably less dense than it was a few minutes ago, and I can see patches of starry sky starting to appear.

I wish I could tell eight-year-old Sakura that I'm doing this. She'd be thrilled, because the Wishing Tree is at least a hundred feet of thick, solid oak – magnified tenfold if you look at it through the eyes of an eight-year-old. I didn't dare try it back then. It's a shame, really, because I could've done with the wishes, back when I still believed in them.

I've only got the last five or so feet to go. I loop my arms over the highest branch and yank down on it to make sure it won't break under my weight. It doesn't. I take that as a good sign and use my interlinked hands as an anchor to haul the rest of my body up. The rough bark scrapes away at my legs, and I wince because it bloody _hurts, _but I ignore it, because I'm probably covered in all sorts of cuts and bruises.

And here we have it. I've only gone and made it to the top. Victory.

I cross my legs beneath me and steady myself against the trunk. I close my eyes and inhale the earthy aroma of the October night, because God knows I've earned this rest.

I let my body relax fully, head dropping into my arms and a small smile gracing my lips. Yes, there are two dead weights where my legs used to be and enough twigs in my hair to make a nest. But it's worth it, because I have this rare moment to myself when I don't have to worry about school, or money, or university, because that's all down there in the world below; too far away to be relevant. This must be what it feels like to be a god.

I remember the first time we saw this tree in the bark (in the flesh would sound a bit weird in this instance) and Ino told me that her dad told her that the reason the Wishing Tree is so special is because according to legend, it's the remains of Senju, the founder of Konoha. Shortly after he built this town, he discovered the secret to eternal power, but he didn't know what to do with that knowledge. So he sat and contemplated in this field, but never found the answer, because he sat here long enough to turn into a tree.

That's why people write wishes on ribbons and tie them to the lower branches to 'harness the tree's power'. The higher the branch, the greater the power, so you're meant to get the most at the top. After Ino told me that story, I was scared to sit still for weeks in case _I _turned into a tree.

Speaking of Ino…before I left the house, she demanded that I send her proof when I reached the top. I take and send a few pictures of myself sitting here and the spectacular view of the glowing town at rest. There's a bright white dot within the rows of buildings – someone's still got their lights on at 2.00am. I'll bet that's Ino, lounging on the sofa with a hot chocolate, the bitch. I hope she's made me one.

She replies to my text straight away.

.

To: Sakura

From: Ino

OMG FOREHEEADD, WELL DONE!

Make a wish ;)

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I roll my eyes at her childishness, even though she's not here to see it. What the hell – I guess I may as well, while I'm up here.

'I wish for Sasuke-kun to come back.'

I know it sounds like a pathetic, desperate wish – and it is – but that's only because there's nothing else I've wanted or needed in the past four years that hasn't been realistically attainable. It's not like I'm expecting anything to _happen._ If shooting stars don't work, what's to say a freaking _tree_ will?

_Believe it, Sakura-chan!_

_What he said, Forehead!_

I shake my head to get rid of Naruto and Ino's annoying voices that have managed to somehow crawl inside. I've been hanging out with them way too much if it's starting to rub off on me.

Better start making my way down.

Contrary to popular belief, climbing down from a tree takes a lot longer than going up. The rush of adrenaline that helped you up has gone, and you're suddenly all too aware of high you are and how far you might fall. You have to be careful, because your fingers are numb and your muscles are seizing up. It's easy to slip on the slick branches (hopefully not damp with _sweat_). With every step you take, you need to hang on for dear life.

I've barely started to descend when it appears. A blinding flash of lightning that tears the sky in two.

I start to scream when the claps of thunder start. My heart drops into my stomach and I nearly miss my footing. I duck my head down to avoid being blinded from the onslaught, but I can see in the illuminated shadows on the ground that the flashes are only getting brighter and brighter.

That's when I realise two very important things:

1) I am outside on my own during a thunderstorm

2) I am outside on my own, _in a tree, _during a thunderstorm

God help me.

Forgetting all I've ever learnt about slow and steady, I start shooting down like a firework. I jump and skid and slide, losing all sense of direction; but I don't care, because the only way I need to go is _down._

I'm spinning and twisting and jerking so much that I forget how my body's meant to fit together. My legs are above my head and my heart is pounding in my throat. A brief downward glance and I realise that I haven't even made it down that far. I've got more than halfway to go and the icy rain is pelting the back of my neck.

_Crack._

That last crack is too quiet and too close to be the thunder. I watch in horror as the branch breaks beneath my feet, taking me with it. I need to grab hold of something before I plummet to my death.

But by the time I've figured it out, I'm already falling. And that is the last thing I know.

* * *

**A/N: A big thank you to musicis4ever for beta-ing this.**

**1/3/14 update: And A&E stands for Accident and Emergency; the equivalent of the Emergency Room/ER. I didn't realise there were alternative definitions to A&E until I read a book that said 'ER' instead of 'A&E'.**


End file.
